


How We Came to Be

by Filmsterr



Series: A New Life [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, California, Emotional Castiel, Established Relationship, Family Feels, M/M, Married Castiel/Dean Winchester, No Angst, POV Sam, Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-10
Updated: 2017-05-10
Packaged: 2018-10-30 04:28:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10869117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Filmsterr/pseuds/Filmsterr
Summary: Dean and Cas take a vacation out to California to visit Sam and Jess.Timestamp to "This Life".





	How We Came to Be

They arrive at the airport an hour early, in classic Sam style. He won't admit it out loud, but he’s dripping with sweat and it isn’t from the California sunshine. 

He’s nervous. There's a million ways this could go wrong and everything with his family is all still so new and fragile. But he doesn't focus on that-- not verbally, at least. Instead he talks about the traffic and the heatwave they are going through, and how he'd emailed Dean about eight times asking for their flight info before finally going to Cas and getting an immediate response.

He chatters and chatters away, all the while Jess barely pays attention to a single thing coming out of his mouth, stopping only when he feels nails digging in hard on his shoulder.

"What?" he gasps, jarred by the interruption. 

Jess uses her hand as best she can to try and force Sam's six-foot-four frame to reverse in direction. "They're here," she whispers excitedly.

At precisely that moment Sam's eyes land on them: a motley trio ambling out of the boarding area and right on over towards our happy couple. They look exactly as Sam had predicted: Robbie, grouchy and sleep-deprived, with his fingers curled around his father's neck for dear life; Dean showcasing an impressive combination of nerves, agitation and false bravado; and Cas, exhausted at having to deal with the two of them.

Sam smiles wide and waves a hand at them. Now that they’re here, about ninety percent of all his surface-level worries are assuaged. Certainly there are some deeper, more lurking concerns simmering in the background. But this is a vacation! Rest and relaxation only for the next seven days.

No, more than anything Sam is just thrilled, plain and simple. This is his first time ever having family in town. He wants to show them his apartment, and the Stanford campus; wants to take Robbie to the beach for the first time. Just wants to be with them, and with Jess, in the place he's come to know as home.

He'd had the fleeting thought of making one of those signs that said "Winchester", like people always have in the movies. But, he concluded, that was too dorky even for him. He couldn't bring himself to do that, even for a hokey laugh. 

So Jess had done it for him instead. Yet another reason she is so damn perfect for him.

She wiggles the sign in the air, which makes Cas' face rise for just a moment as they finally reach their hosts. On his chest, Robbie wriggles like a malcontented worm. 

"How was the fl--"

The daggers that shoot out from Dean's eyes make Sam stop mid-question. "Ah. I figured."

"Please excuse Dean," Castiel apologizes sincerely, sending a scolding look toward his husband. "He has trouble with airplanes. I'm sure you know that, Sam." Sam only offers a short nod as a response, fearing the beating that he'd earn from his older brother if he ventures any more. Cas adjusts Robbie in his arms and continues, "The flight was fine, quite comfortable in fact. I only wish Robbie had managed to sleep a little longer. He's not in a terribly good mood."

As if to lend credence to his father's point, Robbie, who until then had been looking over Sam and Jess with one wary eyeball, turns his head back in to the burrow of Cas' shoulder and makes a whiny noise. Dean seems to be shaken out of his bad mood then just enough to frown at the young boy. "Hey, buddy. Don't you wanna say hi to Uncle Sam and Auntie Jess?"

Despite the encouraging tone in his voice, Robbie still doesn't seem very enthusiastic about the whole ordeal. Dean just gives up then, shrugs his shoulder and gives what is fast becoming his typical response. "He'll warm up to you."

"Well, we've got a week," Jess shoots back with a smile that could split you in two, "so we'll see what we can do. Now bout how about you come in for a hug, hmm?"

With that, Dean regains his normal charming, self-confident demeanor as he swoops in and lifts Jess off her feet into a twirling embrace. Sam merits himself a solid punch on the shoulder and they each get a warm smile from Cas, who doesn't want to risk angering the ornery beast residing on his torso. 

Sam wrangles them all into the car, and throughout the forty-five minute drive home (smooth, no traffic this time) they chat about all manner of things: catching each other up on how Sam's new job was going, wedding plans for the young lovebirds, and Dean shares a few stories of ridiculous things his students have tried to get away with. At one point, Cas tries to share what he promises to be a rather hilarious story from his office, and Dean immediately feigns falling asleep and continues to pepper in very loud fake snores for the next five minutes. 

When they arrive at the house, Jess is the first one to reach for the car seat and scoop little Robbie out, receiving only minor protest. Sam helps Dean and Cas with their bags, and shows them in. He gives a quick, cursory tour to the two of them while Jess lays Robbie down to sleep in her and Sam's bedroom. The visitors seem thoroughly impressed with living space, with Cas remarking at all the natural lighting, and Dean reluctantly deeming the kitchen "not too shabby".

He leads the pair into the guest bedroom, where Jess rejoins them, saying that Robbie is "out like a light". Sam watches closely as his brother and brother-in-law inspect their digs for the week. 

"This is lovely," Cas says in a pleased tone of voice, running his fingers over the comforter on the bed, "more than enough room for the three of us."

"Actually..." Jess starts, turning nervously to Sam. Both Dean and Cas look to him with confusion clouding their faces.

Sam, moving in and wrapping an arm around Jess, finishes the thought for her. "Actually... we were thinking that, if you want, Robbie could crash in our room with us."

Cas tilts his head further to the side, obviously not getting the point. Dean is no better. He stares at the two of them as if they'd suggested a little light arson for their afternoon activity. 

Sam really doesn't want to spell it all out for them, but he fears it might be heading in that direction. "We've already got a little bed made up for him, and you know, we don't get to see him so often so it might be nice... and..."

Dean looks poised to interrupt so Sam quickly spits out: "And you two are on vacation. I'm sure you don't get a lot of alone time at home, so... we're here to help."

Dean immediately goes bright red at the implication of that, practically leaping forward to tell Sam, "Nah, man, you don't have to do that," before Castiel's hand laid firmly on his arm has him frozen in place. 

"Actually, Dean," Cas contests, focusing his eyes only on his husband, "I think Sam and Jess may have a point. It could be nice to have some time, just for us."

A glazed look comes over Dean's eyes then, and he licks his lips. Sam presses his eyes tightly shut, already regretting the offer. He grabs Jess by the hand and steers her out of the guest bedroom, down the hall, as far as he could get from those two horny teenagers. "You two must be tired. You, er, rest up in here, we'll be outside."

\----

The days pass by in a flurry of activity. There is an extensive tour of the law school, and plenty of time spent roaming the block of shops downtown (Jessica is very pleased to find out that she and Cas share a love of bargain hunting-- who knew?). There is plenty of local flavor sampled. There is far too much beer drunk by the brothers, though Jess really shows them how she can hold her own in a tequila shoot-out. There is even a night when Cas drinks an entire bottle of wine by himself and Dean has to carry him to their room before he gets what Dean calls "frisky". 

A good portion of Sam's energy is spent chasing a giggling Robbie down a sandy shoreline while his parents watch lazily from their beach chairs. And though he is tired-- so very, very tired-- he doesn't think there is a single thing in the world that could make him happier.

On one of their last nights in town, Sam drags them out to the little beach at the end of their street to have a little send-off celebration. Dean almost insists that he build the fire himself ("You don't even know what you're doing") but luckily Robbie falls asleep in his arms on the walk down so he is saddled with that responsibility for a while. 

Sam eventually gets the thing nice and cracking, and both he and Jess grab a beer, though the parents of the circle decline the offer. 

Conversation flows lazily, without pressure or awkwardness, all the while the fire provides a comforting soundtrack to the darkening night. As the air grows colder, each couple retreats further into each other, arms wrapped around each other for warmth and comfort. Dean rocks Robbie lightly in his arms, Sam observes from across the flames with an unsubtle smile playing at his lips. 

It's hard not to watch, not to feel a lightness inside his chest, every time he sees his brother being gentle with his nephew. It feels just like he’s seeing it for the first time all over again. Still reeling a bit from the shock that his brother has been tamed. 

He watches as Castiel curls an arm around the two of them and uses his other hand to brush a stray hair out of his Robbie's eyes; sees when Dean snuck a quick kiss against his son's forehead, and a longer one to his husband's cheek.

Jess must be watching too. "You two got pretty lucky with that one," she murmurs aloud, as if giving voice to Sam's own thoughts. "He's a great kid."

Both Dean and Cas reply with sleepy, muted smiles, looking up at her for just a moment before returning their attention back down to the object of their affection. A small pause passes, which feels heavy, weighted, but not in a bad way. After a while, Castiel raises his head in a curious way and looks across the fire.

"Have we ever told you the story of how Robbie came into our lives?"

Sam's mouth curls into a thoughtful frown. He considers the question. He's heard a lot of stories about Robbie-- his first words, first steps, how he makes friends in his music class, where the scar above his eyebrow came from-- but none of them related to his origin story. 

Sam has always assumed it had been a typical adoption process. Of course, there would be difficulties for Dean as far as paperwork, he imagined (it’s possible that Dean is still legally dead from the fallout of a hunt back in Nebraska, he thinks). But... he just hadn't known. 

He realizes now that Jess is looking up at him from her place under his arm, her eyes asking implicit questions. If Sam knew something, then Jess knew it too. That had always been part of their deal: no secrets between them. So right now, he guesses, she is asking him if she knows. 

Sam shakes his head at Castiel. "Um, I don't think so. Why don't you tell us now?"

"It's not even a good story," Dean gripes, low enough not to risk waking Robbie.

"Of course it's a good story," challenges Cas, "it's one of my favorite stories. It makes me believe in fate." Dean rolls his eyes and snorts at that, which earns him an angry glare from Castiel.

Jess smiles and curls further into Sam. "Well, at least we know it has a happy ending."

"Yeah, let's not be too premature about that," mutters Dean darkly. Castiel's annoyance only seems to increase at that, so Sam attempts to defuse the situation. 

"Tell us the story, Cas. Go on. We want to hear."

For a moment, Castiel continues his serious side-eyeing of Dean, until he eventually relaxes his stance and eases off a bit. He looks across the fire at Jess and Sam and takes a deep breath. "It was only about a month after we'd gotten married. That whole affair was a whirlwind: a hasty proposal and then the trip to town hall-- we've told you the story. But..." he pauses here for a small sigh, "I've always known I wanted a family. I love children and, being the age I was when we got married, I knew I wanted to get started right away. Dean... took some convincing."

He looks over at Dean, his eyes low and a little upset. Dean seems to draw into himself a bit, just keeps looking down at Robbie and rocking him tenderly. 

Castiel turns away and continues, "I think it might have something to do with--"

"It doesn't matter why," Dean spits out suddenly, defensively, "I just wasn't sure... if it was the right time."

Sam is unsure when the atmosphere had turned tense. He had thought before when Dean started complaining that it was only lighthearted teasing. He didn't think that the story really held anything negative in it for him. How could it, when it had brought him the obvious joy of having Robbie in his life? 

Sam spares a glance down to Jess, who is focused on Castiel with rapt interest. 

Castiel goes on, "In any case, Dean got a call one day from a hunter named... hmm... I think it was Gary."

"Garth," Dean corrects without looking up. 

"Garth?" Sam repeats. 

Dean raises his gaze over the fire to look his brother in the eyes. "You don't know him. Midwestern kid. Bobby paired us up for a couple of jobs."

Sam doesn't miss the discomfort that shoots through Dean's body when the subject of hunting came up. It’s something he really doesn't like to talk about around Robbie. 

"Yes, Garth," Castiel murmurs. "He called Dean to tell him about... something. He'd come upon a scene involving two young parents, I don't know much of the details and really, I don't want to. But there was an infant there in the house, all alone. A baby boy."

All eyes go to Robbie, who looks so angelic as he puffs out his breaths in his sleep. 

"He didn't know what to do with him. He said he was in Colorado and wanted to know if he could leave him with us."

"I said no, immediately," Dean cuts in. "No way did I want to be taking care of someone else's rugrat. I was no good with kids, didn't have the first idea what to do with one."

Sam finds that hard to believe, having firsthand experience with Dean's childcare expertise. It might not have been perfect, but he'd practically raised Sam single-handedly, and look at where _he_ was now. He wants to jump in and say this, but he can feel that the story is just beginning to pick up now and he doesn't want to interrupt. 

Castiel tries to hold back a smile as he says, "And yet..."

"And yet the twerp shows up at our doorstep away," Dean finishes for him. His tone has lost it's edge now, as if the darkness of the memories has faded into light. "Barely twelve hours later. And he's got this screaming kid in a carseat, and a bag full of stuff, and he just drops it at our feet and takes off."

He still sounds a little rankled, but Sam suspects its more for show. He looks over to Cas who looks back, the memory shining in both of their eyes like the reflection of the flames.

"I pulled Robbie out of his seat and held him for the first time. It wasn't immediate, but pretty soon he stopped crying. And I couldn't stop looking at him. This poor baby had been through so much... and he was just so innocent," Cas reached out a hand and touched Robbie's back. "I loved him so much, even right then."

All four of them are silent. Jess has gone rigid, a hand gripping tensely at Sam’s knee. They’ve traded stories before, Sam’s seen Dean in some of his darkest places… but there’s never been one that seemed as important as this. 

“When I looked over at him and he had these big blue eyes asking  _can we keep him?_ I knew I was screwed," Dean says, shaking his head, even thought he’s smiling now. "I thought it was a total worst case scenario.” 

Cas leans his head over on Dean’s shoulder. Dean presses a kiss into his hair and mutters, “I guess it all turned out alright, though, huh?"

Sam is not too proud to admit that he has to wipe a stray tear from his eye. 

"See?" Jess speaks up after a minute has passed, smiling wide. "Happy ending."

Cas looks once more at Dean and then at Robbie: his little mismatched family that seems now to have fell into place almost by accident. "Yes," He agrees. "I think so."

\----

They arrive at the airport, this time, fifteen minutes later than originally planned-- in classic Dean style. 

“How two brothers can be so different astounds me,” Jess laughs, standing next to Cas and Robbie in front of the Cinnabon there. Sam had wanted to take them out for a nice brunch on their final day in town. Dean argued, saying that Cinnabons were the only thing that made air travel worth it, and well-- here they are.

“Yeah, well, big brothers always right,” Dean proclaims, smiling wide as he bites into a grotesque-looking frosted treat.

Sam rolls his eyes, deflecting the punch that Dean aims at his shoulder. He turns to Robbie, who now (f _inally_ ) smiles affectionately at him Uncle Sammy, and directs some advice. “When you become a big brother, remember to be nice to the little guy, okay?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Dean interrupts, choking on the food stuffed in his mouth. “Let’s not get started on the idea of little siblings just yet, okay?”

But Cas is already donning a dreamy smile on his face. “I don’t know, Dean. Robbie is getting bigger, he’s able to do a lot by himself already. And our house is so big…”

“You see?” Dean complains to Sam. “You see what you started? Now we’ve got three hours on a plane and I’m gonna have to deal with him like this.”

“Aww,” Jess coos, delicately picking at her own pastry. “I don’t think you really mind so much.”

Dean tries to toss a glare in her direction, but the way his cheeks are changing color makes it hard for anyone to believe him. 

Cas looks down at his watch and sighs, declaring that it’s time to head over to security. They all stand and exchange heartfelt goodbyes: Jess receives a nice hug from each of the three gentlemen, and Sam forces Dean and Cas to do the same for him. 

Then he leans down and scoops Robbie up into his arms, the little boy going limp as he does.

“Oh, little man,” Sam sighs-- and yes, he’ll admit, he takes a good long whiff of Robbie’s head, “I’m gonna miss you so much. I love you."

“I love you, Uncle Sammy,” Robbie answers, voluntarily bringing his lips to Sam’s cheek before demanding to be placed back on the ground. 

The other three are staring at Sam with varying levels of emotional reaction: Jess looks as if her heart has just exploded inside her chest, Cas wears a reserved smile, and Dean is beaming with pride. 

Pride is something Sam thinks is befitting of the situation. Dean-- who had been terrified of fatherhood-- is here getting a full view of his successes. Not just in the boy he's raising, but in the one he's raised. 

“Alright, you guys better get out of here,” Sam grumbles, a little embarrassed by the spotlight, “you don’t wanna miss Dean’s pre-flight freakout.”

Dean doesn’t pay attention to the comment, still smiling at Sam and Robbie. “Don’t be a stranger, alright? We’ll call you next week.”

Sam agrees and waves them off, watching as they fade into the mass of people around them. The last thing they see before the three turn a corner in Robbie staring back over Dean’s shoulder, smiling at his aunt and uncle. 


End file.
